The month of February has the least number of days but sometimes it feels like the longest month.
If the pandemic doesn’t keep you at home, the weather in February will. Being retired means we don’t have to worry about going out when the weather isn’t good. At this rate, we come under hermit designation!
It is the month of a lot of snow and frequently ice/rain.
The bottle trees remain outside all winter and do really well in the cold, snow and ice. They are a splash of colour in a black and white garden.
The plants that show are resilient and provide pretty photos with the snow on them. Above are the miscanthus, sedum and yucca.
The Stumpy Family brave the weather all year. Mr Bucket (Mr. Bouquet, for lovers of the Keeping up Appearances tv show) can just see out over the drifts of of snow in front of the fence garden.
Another snowy day on February 22, 2021 gave us a fair bit of wet snow. The Canada flag is another burst of colour on the dull landscape.
The red tailed hawk stopped by the garden one afternoon. We frequently see it flying overhead as it scans the farm fields for food.
You can see the colouring on its tail, which gives it its name. He didn’t find any tasty things to eat that afternoon.
We have lots of our regular winter birds at the feeders – cardinals, sparrows, house finches (all in this photo) plus chickadees, juncos, nuthatches, gold finches, woodpeckers and bluejays.
This is certainly not one of my best photos, but it was taken through the living room window and the drift of snow buntings was across the road and 3 farm fields back. I could watch them swoop and swirl up and around, land, snack, and repeat several times. They are most likely on their way to the breeding grounds in the north.
The temperatures started to rise to just above 0 Celsius for the last few days. The robin can be heard and was hard to spot.
I’ve started work on another mosaic crochet bag in blues this time. The pattern is one of Tinna’s collection. Here are my other posts about my mosaic crochet.
My collection of drop rocks for when we go out on our day trips is getting bigger.
This month I made a lot of thank you cards to go with items I’m either giving away or selling on Marketplace. These are all made using upcycled playing cards.
The black squirrels can be pesky but they are a great source of entertainment to watch. On a day that was like being inside a snow globe they ran, jumped and chased each other up and down the trees and found ways to get into the feeders.
The full moon for February came at the end of the month. The last couple of days have seen the temperatures around 5 Celsius and the dripping and melting have started.
I’m always glad to see February finish as it means we are that much closer to the time change and the arrival of spring. I’m sharing these views of the garden with Through my Garden Gate.
Margy
You always have such crafty ideas. We don’t have the snow that you do, but I’ll be glad when we get more sun in between the rains. I’ve taken a break from blogging with little content to keep me going. – Margy
Crafty Gardener
Good to hear from you Margy. Are you back at the float cabin yet or still in Bellingham?
Margy
Still in Bellingham waiting for Covid vaccine and fewer border restrictions hopefully in the coming months. We plan to quarantine at the cabin so a bit warmer days and nights is better. – Margy
Jennifer Jilks
I am a hermit, indeed. I do get outdoors, though.
Your photos are wonderful. I love the rocks and the bottle trees. Thank goodnes for the birds to keep us amused!
Crafty Gardener
We love watching the birds and were thrilled to see all the snow buntings a few days ago, haven’t seen them in our area before, though I have seen them in other locations.
Jeannie
I too am finished with February – it is my least favorite month of the year. Being the shortest is the only good thing about it.
Hyacinth Bouquet (Mrs. Bucket) always made me laugh when I watched her stunts. My husband would sit beside me and never see the humor. I would laugh until I cried and he would just shake his head.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
Crafty Gardener
I love watching the reruns of Mrs Bouquet! I also really enjoy her series about Hetty Wainthrop.
Moving into March today, hoping for the weather to improve.
Thanks for stopping by.
Jeannie
I haven’t heard about her series about Hetty Wainthrop. I searched and only found a few short snips on youtube. If I could find it, I would watch it but maybe I need to do chores instead. Oh well.
Jeannie
Myrtle
I am way behind on my replies coming by today to see what you have been up to knowing I will enjoy it as always. March is going to come in like a lion here, so far very windy and every now & then some flurries and now the sun is trying to show. We are to drop to -17c by am tomorrow!
Crafty Gardener
Hi Myrt, yes March has started off really windy, but at least no snow for us. Cold weather coming here too. Wishing for warmer weather.
Margie
Your painted rocks always make me smile!
I’m also happy to step into March after a tough February. Bring on spring!
Sarah
Lovely to see some snowy scenes from your garden. We don’t often have snow here anymore. The bottles do add some contrasting colour against the snow! It is wonderful to see your local wildlife too.
Pam's English Garden
Beautiful pictures of your snow-covered, February garden. I especially love the bird pictures. Your thank you cards and painted rocks are amazing! Not being ‘crafty’ myself, I am in awe. First day of spring tomorrow. Hurrah! P. x